College student from California studying abroad killed in Paris attacks

Nohemi Gonzalez, a student at California State University, Long Beach has been killed in the Paris attacks, a spokesman for the university said on Saturday. Gonzalez was studying for a semester at the Strate College of Design.

By
Staff, Reuters /
November 14, 2015

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Flowers and candles are placed near the scene of a shooting the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris, France, November 14, 2015. Nohemi Gonzalez, a student at California State University, Long Beach has been killed in the Paris attacks, a spokesman for the university said on Saturday.

Yves Herman/Reuters

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LOS ANGELES

A student from a university just south of Los Angeles who was studying design in France has been killed in the Paris attacks, a spokesman for the university said on Saturday.

Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, was a junior at California State University, Long Beach, and she was studying for a semester at the Strate College of Design in a suburb of Paris, said CSULB spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp. She was from El Monte in Southern California, he said.

Specific details of her death were not immediately available, but the school will hold a vigil on Sunday at 4 pm local time (2400 GMT) to mourn her passing as well as the death of everyone in the attacks.

"I'm deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Long Beach State University student Nohemi Gonzalez," university President Jane Close Conoley said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this sad time."

On Friday, several sites around Paris were targeted by gunmen and bombers in what French authorities have said was a coordinated assault that left at least 129 dead overall. Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Conoley said the school has nearly 80 foreign exchange students from France and is offering counseling support as they cope with the aftermath. The school said it has 18 students participating in international exchange programs in Paris, but no other were hurt, a spokesman said.

One friend of Gonzalez on Facebook posted messages about the loss. "Rest in paradise my lil Mimi," wrote Miraya Cervantes. "I swear this is a sick joke. Nohemi Gonzalez. I love you sunshine. You always seem to find the bright side of everything."